Every move teaches something — even the ones that hurt.

A 3rd Round Rethink: Lessons from Ritchie vs. Brandmair

May 16, 2025, 3:14 PM | 0

Columbia Club Championship - Round 3
White: Mark Ritchie (1466)
Black: James Brandmair (1380)
Result: 1-0

This game was one of those painful but instructive battles that haunt you just enough to make you better. Mark Ritchie played solidly, capitalized on one key mistake, and held on with precision.

Opening: Slav Structure

1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 a6 6. a3 h6

Standard Slav development. I like ...a6 and ...h6 as useful waiting moves, especially when I’m not fully prepped. They keep ideas like Bg5 and Nb5 in check, but admittedly slow my development.

7. Bf4 Nc6 8. e3 Bf5 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. O-O Bd6

This is a standard plan—develop the light-squared bishop before locking it in with ...e6. We trade dark bishops, and I thought the position was equal.

12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Rac1 O-O 14. Na4 Nd7 15. Nc5 Nxc5 16. dxc5 Qe7

At this point, I was slightly uncomfortable. White had space and a target (c5) to work with. I thought I could equalize with some timely breaks.

Middlegame: Pressure Mounts

17. b4 Rfd8 18. Nd4 Rdc8 19. Rb1 Ne5 20. Qb3 Nc4

This was my big idea—get some activity and maybe coordinate on the queenside.

21. Rfd1 Rab8 22. f4?! b6

White's 22. f4 gave me a target, so I countered with ...b6 to open the b-file.

23. cxb6 Rxb6 24. Rdc1 Rb8 25. Rxc4?! dxc4 26. Qxc4

I was really happy here. My opponent gave me an outside passed pawn and doubled rooks on an open file. I thought I was doing great. But...

The Turning Point

26... a5??

This was the losing move. I had to play 26... Qb7, activating the queen, defending b6, and preparing for counterplay. Instead, I tried to force the issue.

27. Nc6!

Ouch. My rooks got forked, and everything started falling apart fast.

28. Qxc6 axb4 29. Qc4 Qa7 30. axb4 Qxe3+

I tried to muddy the waters with a check, hoping to harass the king. But Mark stayed calm.

31. Kf1 Qb6 32. Ke2 Kf8 33. Rb3 Ke7 34. Kd2 Rd8+ 35. Rd3 Qf2+ 36. Kc3 Qe1+

I was proud of this sequence—it felt like I might get counterplay. And I did get to triple-check the king.

37. Kb3 Qb1+ 38. Kc3 Qc1+ 39. Kb3 Qb1+ 40. Kc3 Rxd3+ 41. Qxd3 Qxd3+

We traded down into what I hoped was a drawable king-and-pawn endgame. I was wrong.

Endgame: Outplayed

42. Kxd3 Kd6 43. Kc4 Kc6 44. g4 f6 45. h4 g6??

This was another error. I broke too early, and it gave White a clean kingside majority.

46. g5 hxg5 47. fxg5 fxg5 48. hxg5 e5

By now, it was all over but the crying.

49. b5+ Kb6 50. Kd5 Kxb5 51. Kxe5 Kc6 52. Kf6 Kd7 53. Kxg6 Ke7 54. Kh7 1-0

Final Thoughts

The moment I played 26... a5, I handed White the keys. If I had simply played 26... Qb7, the game would’ve been completely different. It’s a great reminder that one impatient move can unravel 25 decent ones.

Still, I felt I played well for long stretches—and it’s hard to be too upset when a game teaches you something valuable. Credit to Mark for staying composed and converting cleanly.

I’ll bounce back in Round 4.